Gender & Disaster News & Resources

Action Against Hunger 2018 Women's Leadership in Disaster 2018. This report explores how women are involved as leaders and decision-makers within the Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) and its networks. Download here and here on GDN. More information here.

Debra Parkinson, Liam Leonard, Alyssa Duncan and Judy Jeffrey 2018 Identifying the experiences and needs of LGBTI communities before, during and after emergencies in Victoria. This report documents LGBTI people’s experiences of living through an emergency, their experiences of accessing a range of EM services, and the knowledge and attitudes of EM personnel in working with LGBTI people and communities in Victoria, Australia. Download here and here on GDN. See also the GDN LGBTQI+ page

Chona R. Echavez, SayedMahdi Mosawi and Leah Wilfreda RE Pilongo, January 2016, The Other Side of Gender Inequality: Men and Masculinities in Afghanistan. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit and Swedish Committee for Afghanistan, Issues Paper here.

'The experiences of refugee and asylum seeking women of maternal healthcare in the UK' Poster by Imogen Horn, Medical Student, St George’s University of London. Presented at the launch of the IRDR Centre for Gender and Disaster
Recommendations: longer, flexible appointments, continuation of midwife care, improved access to and provision of interpreters and written information in the correct language, more training for health care professionals to allow better understanding, support groups, mentoring from women who understand the maternal care pathways and more accessible clinics. Download the poster here

OXFAM Australia 2018 DOWN BY THE RIVER. The research project team followed Fijian sexual and gender minorities ‘Down By The River’ as they shared stories of everyday life before and after Tropical Cyclone Winston. Authors: Emily Dwyer and Lana Woolf of Edge Effect. Link here | Direct download here | See the LGBT+ Resources page here

'Transform the current development model that generates risk, violates human rights and creates disasters' Conference held at the Universidad Panamericana, Mexico City. Download note in Spanish and English. Nota en español e inglés

New from Huairou Commission and ADB: 'Accelerating Sustainable Development: Investing in Community-Led Strategies for Climate and Disaster Resilience' download here or go to ADB

'Making It Count: Integrating Gender in Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction' Produced by CARE International in Vietnam, UN Women in Viet Nam and GIZ, ‘Making It Count’ offers practical questions, actions, tools and resources for integrating gender into climate change and disaster risk reduction interventions. Website link or download it from here (large file 25MB)

Status of Gender, Vulnerabilities and
Adaptation to Climate Change in the
Hindu Kush Himalaya. ICIMOD 2017. The overarching recognition in all the literature is that climate change will have huge and largely detrimental impacts on vulnerable communities, and that gender will be a defining feature in shaping individuals’ experiences of adverse circumstances. External link or download here.

See also from that Workshop the presentation by Marcy Hersh of Refugees:
International Backlash in GBV humanitarian response to Typhoon Haiyan? Link

‘Community Resilience at Scale: Grassroots Women Demonstrating Successful Practices’ shares successful grassroots strategies for building community resilience to disasters and climate change. It showcases women leading sustainable development in their communities, and features scaling up strategies in order to influence global agendas such as the Hyogo Framework for Action 2 and Post 2015 Development Agenda. Download Link

The WomanStats Project - compilation of information on the status of women. It facilitates understanding the linkage between the situation of women and the security of nation-states by searching the literature and conducting expert interviews. It is based on over 350 indicators of women's status in 175 countries.

UNISDR 2014 Asia-Pacific Input Document for the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (HFA2) FINAL DRAFT: Risk sensitive development as the cornerstone of resilience and sustainability | Link to download | Local copy

'Impact of the Chars Livelihoods Programme on the disaster resilience of Chars communities' Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP), 2014. It was found in the study that female participants scored less than the males before CLP support. However in the areas where households had received the CLP support package, females scored higher than their male counterparts. Link | Download

If you are setting up or restructuring an organization then take a look at this: Asian-Pacific Resource & Research Centre for Women (ARROW) have produced a new Arrow Resource Kit (ARK) setting out their tried and tested management practices that reflect feminist principles. Link or Download [6MB]

'Ending Violence Against Women: The Case for a Comprehensive International Action Plan' Oxfam 2013 Link [220kb]

'Women's Voices From The Floodplains: an economic gender lens on responses in disaster affected areas in Queensland and Victoria' by economic Security4Women (eS4W) and Justice Equality Rights Access International (JERA)here

'WOMEN, GIRLS AND DISASTERS: A review for DFID' by Sarah Bradshaw and Maureen Fordham, August 2013 here

It seems that feminism is an important catalyst currently to engage interest on gender issues. We must remember that feminism is a contested term and is associated with transformative change, backlash and as many exclusions as inclusions. It is important that we build - constructively - on the positive gains of the feminist legacy while challenging the exclusionary practices and ideas of the past. An intersectional approach, recognizing difference within the category 'women' and focusing on gender relations, not just women alone, is one way of going forward.

This year's MFM Award winner

May's selection acknowledges her leadership in promoting gender-sensitive and socially-inclusive humanitarian operations, especially her efforts in bringing greater visibility to sexual and gender-based violence during disasters and increasing participation of community members through community-based research.

Launching a Google Group on LGBTQI+ issues in emergencies and disasters

The lack of awareness, research and discussion around impacts of disasters and emergencies on the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community continues to concern a number of our members. In order to build, share and coordinate research and discussion around this marginalised group, our friends Kevin Blanchard and Lesley Gray have set up a group to examine this issue, promote discussion and collaboration and hopefully increase awareness. You can join the group here. If you have any questions, please email Kevin directly.

Launching the Gender and Disaster Network (GDN) Bangladesh Country Hub

UN Women Bangladesh and the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies (IDMVS), University of Dhaka will hold the launching ceremony of the Gender and Disaster Network (GDN) Bangladesh Country Hub at RC Majumdar Arts Auditorium (First floor of Lecture Theatre building), Dhaka University Campus on 11 March, 2018 at 3:00 PM. Through the GDN launching we shall celebrate the International Women’s day, upholding the cause of integrating women’s empowerment aspects in disaster management. More here...

International Women's Day 2018

The theme this year is “Time is Now: Rural and urban activists transforming women’s lives”

Rural women and their organizations represent an enormous potential, and they are on the move to claim their rights and improve their livelihoods and wellbeing.

On 8 March, join activists around the world and UN Women to seize the moment, celebrate, take action and transform women’s lives everywhere. The time is NOW. Read more here

GDN member recognised by the British Library for her gender/post-conflict work

The British Library’s Sisterhood and After project describes sixty-six UK feminists alive today who have spent their lives striving for political and social equality, and who struggled for changes that would grant both women and men new freedoms. Lesley Abdela, long time GDN member, is one of them.

Lesley Abdela is a women’s rights campaigner, gender consultant and journalist who has worked for women’s representation in over 40 countries including post-conflict countries: Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal and Aceh. In 1980 she founded the all-Party 300 Group to campaign to get more women into local, national and European politics in the UK.

Listen to Lesley Abdela discussing domestic violence, divorce and child support, sex discrimination pre-legislation and women in government - A Democracy for Women.

GDN is partnering with a new research centre to be led by Professor Maureen Fordham at University College London (UCL) Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR). The Centre for Gender and Disaster (website to be online soon) will be launched on 7th March 2018. Go to the IRDR Public Events page for details.

The Centre for Gender and Disaster aims to develop awareness of and responsiveness to gender for risks and disasters, and humanitarian contexts more generally, through excellence in research and teaching. The Centre will:
• Expand upon everyday understandings of ‘gender’ to move beyond simplistic binary categorisations towards a more fluid comprehension of identities, adopting an intersectional approach.
• Define ‘disaster’ broadly to include events and processes triggered by natural hazards, humanitarian crises, as well as internal or cross-border conflicts.
• Combine gender and disaster research with disparate subject strands, in some of which gender is absent, of low perceived salience, or simply inadequate.

The Centre will focus initially on 5 broad subject pillars, some of which align with UCL’s Global Challenges:

New series - look on the right

GDN is starting a new series called 'What are you reading?'. It invites suggestions from GDN members and friends for interesting items to share. They can be of any kind: books, articles, blogs, websites. Anything that has a connection to and usefulness for those interested in gender and disasters.

Look over to the right for the first two!

16 Days of Activism

From 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, to 10 December, Human Rights Day, the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Campaign is a time to galvanize action to end violence against women and girls around the world.

The UNiTE Campaign will mark 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence under the overarching theme, “Leave No One Behind: End Violence against Women and Girls”— reflecting the core principle of the transformative 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Go here for more information.

Violence against women

The Zambia National Men‘s Network has trained 74 men and women as anti GBV champions (28 women and 46 men), who will undertake the role of sensitizing communities and reporting GBV cases in Chilanga, Chaisa, Chongwe and Rufunsa to the police.

The men and women were drawn from different CSOs- Churches, community members, traditional leaders including the police service. Source: WUNRN – Women's UN Report Networkwww.wunrn.com

Tonga demonstrates its efforts for the Centrality of Gender and Protection in Climate Action

"Climate change and disasters threaten core human rights and prioritizing those most impacted by disasters and climate change must be the priority of all decision makers” said the Hon. Mereseini Vuniwaqa, the Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation for the Fijian Government "gender and ‘protection’ must be central to any activity which relates to climate change and/or disasters.”
More information here

Global warming might be especially dangerous for pregnant women

Scientists are concerned that heat waves could be linked to more premature births and stillbirths.

Previous research on heat vulnerability, which mainly focused on cardiovascular problems in the elderly, didn’t capture the full spectrum of potential threats to public health from rising temperatures, e.g. pregnant women. Source: Ellie Kincaid for The Atlantic and PreventionWeb

The International Day of the Girl Child

This year’s International Day of the Girl (IDG) on October 11 marks the beginning of a year-long effort to spur global attention and action to the challenges and opportunities girls face before, during, and after crises.

'UNLOCK THE POWER OF GIRLS NOW' - The report discusses a study based on qualitative research with a sample of adolescent girls and boys in five communities in Colombia and four in Uganda. The research sought to connect the pathways towards female empowerment and gender equality with a social
norms analysis and was designed to examine how gender power relations either drive or impede social change.

“We start telling little girls not to lead at a really young age and we start to tell boys to lead at a very young age. That is a mistake"

Arts-based Recovery Methods by Kimberly Clair

The second issue of Doing Gender & Disaster examines good practices for incorporating arts-based recovery methods into disaster response drawing on research conducted in Aceh, Indonesia by Dr. Kimberly Clair.

Arts-based Recovery Methods
Traditional methods for addressing psychosocial impacts of disasters, employed by many aid agencies, may not be culturally appropriate, as they rely on Western medicine and norms. Arts-based recovery methods such as dance have therapeutic benefits, and may assist participants with reestablishing trust and cultural identity, further strengthening resilience.
Download DG&D2

The Impact of the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence in Emergencies

In 2013, world leaders, convened by the governments of the United Kingdom (UK) and Sweden, came together to launch the Call to Action on Protection from Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Emergencies. It is a multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to drive change and foster accountability from the humanitarian system to address GBV, particularly against women and girls.

The Call to Action:
Galvanised senior leaders in donor agencies, IOs and NGOs
at a central level to prioritise GBV.
Helped strengthen policy, organisational frameworks and
accountability mechanisms.
Supported a drive for improved and increased programming
on GBV in emergencies.
Promoted collective action and accountability on GBV in emergencies.
Helped increase funding for GBV programmes.

This review identifies important gaps:
1 Although GBV programming has increased, it is not yet enough or to scale to meet the growing need on the ground.
2 There is a need to build the capacity of implementing partners
to prevent and respond to GBV.
3 The Call to Action needs to expand its reach to include southernbased implementing agencies and women’s organisations.
4 There is a need to work with frontline humanitarian workers and emergency response leadership to change norms and attitudes around prioritisation of GBV, and this will take time.

Recommendations
The report makes the following recommendations:
1 Maintain political momentum by identifying critical next steps for the Call to Action and priority areas for the Call to Action lead within these.
2 Identify funding needs and mobilise resources to implement
the Call to Action Road Map through coordinated action.
3 Promote increased accountability for Call to Action commitments and drive implementation of commitments on the ground.
4 Integrate Call to Action commitments into other relevant policy frameworks on women’s and girls’ protection and empowerment.
5 Share knowledge and build capacity and expertise across different Call to Action Stakeholder Working Groups, especially between donors and implementing agencies.

Men, Masculinities and Disaster

An integrated approach to gender-based violence and child protection from Islamic Relief

Islamic Relief is committed to ending GBV as part of its wider gender justice framework that seeks to end harmful practices affecting
women and girls. The report is a summary of key findings from a project that aimed to prevent GBV and provide support to survivors in three countries: Mali, Niger and Pakistan. Download it from Islamic Relief here or from GDN's website here.

GDN is planning a new look but needs some help - can you help?

TheGDN has a new logo

but really needs support to complete the design of a new Gender and Disaster Network website and migrate all the GDN files.

Can you help with time? expertise? funding? Please contact Maureen Fordham gdn@gdnonline.org if you have something to offer GDN.

Who Are We?

The Gender and Disaster Network started in 1997 as an educational project initiated by women and men interested in gender relations in disaster contexts. We are the first web presence to advocate for gender mainstreaming in disaster risk reduction using the World Wide Web.Read more

What We Do

The GDN Community Mailing List
GDN members share the latest information and resources on gender, drr and related issues through a mailing list hosted by Preventionweb. To subscribe to the LISTSERV, please register online: https://www.gdnonline.org/profile/register.php

The Gender and Disaster Sourcebook
The GDN hosts and maintains the Gender and Disaster and Disaster Sourcebook, a one-stop user-friendly electronic guide to help answer the question: "What is the link between gender equality and disaster risk?"

The Gender and Disaster Network Knowledgebase
A repository of many resources available to download in the GDN Knowledgebase.

The Mary Fran Myers Award
The Mary Fran Myers Award was so-named in order to recognize her sustained efforts to launch a worldwide network among disaster professionals, for advancing women’s careers and for promoting research on gender issues in disaster research in emergency management and higher education.

In June 2018, Maureen Fordham is reading 'Adapting the built environment: the role of gender in shaping vulnerability and resilience to climate extremes in Dhaka' by HURAERA JABEEN in Environment & Urbanization Vol 26(1): 1–19 here

In January 2018, Dr John Twigg was reading 'Bridging the participatory gap: children with disabilities and disaster risk reduction'